Monday, March 30, 2009

I was really going to title this, "The calla lilies are in bloom again..." ~ Katherine Hepburn, Stage Door ~ but they weren't calla lilies, they were bluebonnets. If you have never been to Texas in early Spring, you have probably never seen blankets of wild flowers covering the prairie...oh wait, I live near downtown Houston...you get the drift.

So a friend of agreed to take some pics of The Calvinator before the flowers are no longing blooming. These are just a few of the many.

Thursday, March 26, 2009

(Houston, Texas)- March 26, 2009 - Project Row Houses (PRH) is pleased to announce its opening reception for Round 30: Home. Space. Place. The artist installations will be on display from March 28, 2009 through June 21, 2009 at 2505 – 2517 Holman Street. The Opening Reception is free and will be held Saturday, March 28th, from 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM. In addition to the Opening, there will be an Artists & Community Talk on Thursday March 26th, featuring all the Round Artists, at 6:30 PM at 2521 Holman Street, Houston, TX 77004. The public is invited to have an interactive dialogue with the artists about their work.

Round 30: Home. Space. Place. Project Row Houses has invited seven exciting local and national artists to engage with the Third Ward and greater Houston Community in the creation of new installations in the Artist Project Houses. The theme, Home. Space. Place. focuses on concepts that are centered in the Third Ward community and others that are generic to all urban neighborhoods. These include ideas of home, identity, culture, struggles and perseverance. Some artists will draw upon the historical significance of the shotgun house, while others will collect memories from Third Ward residents and/or create work in response to the neighborhood. All will create artifacts; capsules of visions and memories that resonate throughout the community. Installations will range from formal to more conceptual, utilizing a variety of materials and processes.

Featured Artists:

Gregory Michael Carter (Houston, TX) will create the installation Walk with Me. Through multi-layered, mixed media works, Carter will invite the viewer into his perceptions and experiences of the Third Ward as it pertains to issues of race and class.

Stephanie Diamond (New York, NY) creates a two-part installation. In It Would Look Like… (Project Row Houses) Diamond will invite area residents’ to share their visions of home utilizing her personal archives of over 200,000 photographs. In Snap Sharing, Diamond will invite area residnets to bring their own snapshots in a round table session of extrasensory perception, humor, story and myth making.

Rashida Ferdinand (New Orleans, LA) responds to the historic architecture of the shotgun house while creating a sense of memorial in her installation Lullaby. The work will reveal the tragedy and pain of her grandmother’s survival 1965 Hurricane Betsy in 1965, while also serving as a universal testament to faith, survival, persistence and love.

Lance Flowers (Houston, TX) utilizes wit and irony as he channels the people in Third Ward in his installation Can't Buy Class where he will place the “haves” and “have-nots” of the local community alongside one another in a multimedia mural created on the interior walls of his installation space.

Cynthia Giachetti (Baton Rouge, LA) will engage the residents of Third Ward in the creation of her intricate textile installation Building Ground, as she pays tribute to her passage of time here at Project Row Houses and memorializes her Third Ward experiences.

Lisa Qualls (Houston, TX) utilizes the images and forms from people within Third Ward and greater Houston communities in her installation Spirit Level. Looking at how the shotgun house serves as a symbol of home, Qualls’ work will honor Houston neighborhoods and the memories of the residents.

Stacy-Lynn Waddell (Chapel Hill, NC) will utilize her artistic process of burning, branding and singeing in her installation Call-n-Response. Waddell will explore some of the contradictions and misunderstandings of American history in her “call” inviting the viewers to “respond”.

In conjunction with Round 30:

Project Row Houses presents Yinka Adeyimi, a Yoruba artist from Nigeria, in his first solo exhibition in Houston, My Houston Turning Point. Yinka juxtaposes the traditional customs of batik, paintings on rice paper and bead mosaics with his own contemporary style. His artworks are an uplifting blend of Western Culture and mythological beliefs of the Yorubas. The exhibition can be viewed at 2521 Holman St., Houston, 77004.

About Project Row Houses

PRH was founded in 1993 as a result of discussions among African-American artists who wanted to establish a positive, creative presence in the Third Ward community. Our work is founded on the principle that art and the community that creates it changes lives. Thus, the mission of Project Row Houses is to create community through the celebration of art and African American history and culture.

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

I've been thinking quite a bit about Calvin. He has a rough life. He gets to watch tv all day long. He gets to take naps. He gets treats. He gets to go on walks. He gets fed. He gets tummy rubs.

These are pics I snapped on Tuesday evening while he was getting his tummy rubbed. He was in a state of ecstasy.I had a conversation with someone the other day. I made the comment that "...it is all about Calvin." That person then said that they wouldn't date me because Calvin would always come first. I told that person they need to get a dog because of the unconditional love you receive from a dog; something you can only learn from a dog.

Speaking of dogs...

I ran across something like this the other day when I went to get The Calvnator from the groomer. It is too funny!!!!

Top 20 reasons your dog's haircut costs more than yours:

1. Your hairdresser doesn't give you a bath.

2. Your hairdresser doesn't give you a manicure and pedicure.

3. You don't try to bite or scratch your hairdresser

4. You don't wiggle, spin or try to jump out of the hairdresser' s chair.

5. Your hairdresser only cuts the top of your head, not your whole body

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Sunday Funday activities in NoRo. Who knew I knew so many people with birthdays in March? Five of them got together today to celebrate their birthdays. It was a combo of Pisces & Aries. Not sure if that is of any signifcance.

On Friday, I was having a hellacious day at work and had to hand-deliver a proposal and then get to FEDEX to make sure collateral material for another proposal got shipped out.

To get this done I gambled and jumped on a freeway...in Houston...on a beautiful Friday afternoon. I can hear the murmurs right now, "What were YOU thinkin'?" I was hoping to get the errands completed so that I could eat lunch at 4:00p.m..

So while I'm stuck in traffic, I'm listening to cds and not really paying attention because I'm thinking how much I hate Fridays. It seems that all hell breaks loose at work on Friday and today was no different. And I'm thinking I'm losing my mind and guess what? Losing My Mind starts to play! Is this God's way of saying, "You're losing your mind." And if so, I thought God would strike me with a bolt of lightning to get my attention. Who knew He would send me a message through a cd player and the message would be delivered by Liza Minnelli and The Pet Shop Boys? I must ask once again, "Who knew?"

Saturday, March 21, 2009

and dancing to the rite of Spring. And I normally wouldn't do this kind of thing.

Today is the first full day Spring. According to the Pet Shop Boys we should all dance to the rite of Spring. I think it might be some sort of pagan thing but who cares? Take off your clothes. Run around the backyard. Dance like no one is watching...or dance like someone is watching. Maybe they'll join in!?!?

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Two weeks ago, I decided to sign-up for AIDS Walk Houston 2009. Because I was a bit late in signing up and knowing these economic times are tough on folks, I set a low goal. Within 36 hours, I had reached my goal so...

I raised it! Well...in a few days that was surpassed and thanks to friends and family the contributions kept coming in. I decided not raise the goal again but it started approaching $1,000 which NEVER in my wildest dreams did I think I could raise that in 7-8 days. So, I was $10 short of $1,000 and Margo made a contribution that threw me over that mark. And the contributions continue to come in...amazing.

I don't know how else to say, "Thank You!" to everyone who contributed and to everyone who was there in spirit. People really amaze me and I am in awe of you.The pictures (in a previous post) will show you that we did get caught in the hurricane force winds and tsunami rainfall rain. It was all for a good cause.

The views expressed on this blog are my thoughts and opinions and are not associated with any agency, association or corporation. I do reserve the right to delete or edit comments made by visitors. Some of the photos are taken by me. However, some of the photos that you see have been found on other websites. When it is possible I will give give credit for those photos. Some information found on this blog is from other sources and they will be acknowledged.